Chen Baxian Builds the Chen Dynasty

Emperor Yuan of Liang had used Western Wei to defeat Xiao Ji, but the price was Yizhou.

When he tried to recover lost territory, Western Wei's blade turned toward Jiangling.

Western Wei Attacks Jiangling

In 554, Yuwen Tai ordered Yu Jin to lead 50,000 infantry and cavalry from Chang'an against Jiangling.

On the march, someone asked Yu Jin what he would do if he were Xiao Yi and heard that Western Wei was coming.

Yu Jin answered that the best choice would be to cross the Yangtze under the name of campaign and move toward Jiankang. The second choice would be to bring all people outside the city into the inner defenses, strengthen the walls, and wait for aid. The worst choice would be to defend the outer city.

He judged that Xiao Yi would choose the worst.

His reason was direct. Liang had been comfortable in Jiangnan for too long, and Xiao Yi was suspicious but not strategically sharp. He might think Western Wei was too restrained by Northern Qi to march south seriously.

The emergency report soon reached Jiangling.

Xiao Yi was in the palace lecturing officials on the Laozi. Hearing that Western Wei was coming, he was shocked and doubtful.

Ministers argued that Liang and Western Wei had had good relations in recent years and that the report was probably false.

Xiao Yi sent scouts. They only looked nearby and returned saying the border was safe.

Although he remained suspicious, he did not strengthen defenses, did not plan to move the capital, and even continued making officials attend lectures in military dress.

Days later, the invasion was undeniable. Still, Xiao Yi refused nearby forces that wanted to come to his aid. He insisted on waiting for Wang Sengbian to come upriver from distant Jiankang.

By the time he understood, the moment was gone. As Yu Jin had expected, he could only defend the outer city.

Emperor Yuan Burns His Books

Western Wei attacked Jiangling from all sides.

Wang Sengbian's reinforcements were still far away. Xiao Yi withdrew into the inner city.

While the inner city was not yet fully surrounded, ministers urged him to break out at night and cross the river.

Xiao Yi said he could not ride.

They answered that they could carry him on horseback. He said the breakout would fail and only add humiliation.

If the emperor would not leave, the officials could only wait with him. Xiao Yi then hid in the imperial library.

He had loved books all his life and owned a vast collection. Now in despair, he ordered 140,000 scrolls burned.

When someone asked why, he answered that he had read ten thousand scrolls and still reached this end. So he burned them.

Fire rose, and the books became ash. Xiao Yi tried to throw himself into the flames, but attendants stopped him. He then struck a pillar with a sword and broke the blade.

At last, he put on mourning clothes, rode a white horse out the east gate, and surrendered to Western Wei.

Several days later, he was executed. The man who carried out the killing was his nephew Xiao Cha.

Xiao Cha had old hatred against Xiao Yi and had joined Western Wei out of fear that Xiao Yi would punish him. Now that Xiao Yi had fallen into his hands, Xiao Cha had him crushed to death with bags of earth.

After Jiangling fell, the middle and lower Yangtze region again fell into confusion.

Three Liang Emperors

After Emperor Yuan died, Liang suddenly had three emperors.

This succession crisis exposed how broken Liang's central authority had become after Hou Jing's rebellion. Whoever held troops could produce an emperor.

The first was Xiao Cha.

Under Western Wei military supervision, he became a puppet emperor over a small local regime later called Western Liang. It occupied only a limited area around Jingzhou but survived as a Western Wei and later Northern Zhou client until the Sui.

The second was Xiao Fangzhi, Emperor Yuan's son.

After Jiangling fell, Liang's strongest commanders were Wang Sengbian, governor of Yangzhou, and Chen Baxian, governor of Southern Xuzhou. They agreed to raise the twelve-year-old Xiao Fangzhi as heir.

He was young and easy to control. Real power lay with Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian.

The third was Xiao Yuanming.

Xiao Yuanming was a nephew of Emperor Wu of Liang. Years earlier, Emperor Wu had sent him north to support Hou Jing, and Eastern Wei captured him. After Eastern Wei became Northern Qi, he fell into Gao Yang's hands.

In 555, Northern Qi escorted Xiao Yuanming south and demanded that Liang make him emperor.

Gao Yang's calculation was clear. Western Wei had installed Xiao Cha, so Northern Qi needed its own card. Xiao Yuanming had lived in the north for years and had no base in the south. He would have to depend on Northern Qi.

If the plan succeeded, Northern Qi influence would enter the Jiankang court directly.

Wang Sengbian and Chen Baxian understood this.

At first Wang Sengbian refused, saying Xiao Yuanming could return as a minister but not as ruler. Northern Qi pressured him, moving armies to the north bank of the Yangtze. Jiankang came under pressure.

Wang finally compromised. Northern Qi troops could not cross the river. Xiao Yuanming could be emperor, but Xiao Fangzhi had to be made crown prince. Xiao Yuanming could not bring 3,000 guards into court.

Northern Qi accepted.

The conditions show that Wang yielded but still wanted to hold the emperor in his own hands. Northern Qi could send a man to be emperor, but not an army across the river.

Chen Baxian Kills Wang Sengbian

Wang Sengbian's separate compromise with Northern Qi angered Chen Baxian.

After suppressing Hou Jing, Chen Baxian had been stationed at Jingkou, today's Zhenjiang, to defend against Northern Qi.

He and Wang Sengbian were allies, but they were also rivals. Wang had welcomed the Northern Qi-backed Xiao Yuanming without consulting him. Chen feared that Wang would dominate Liang or even remove him next.

So he chose to move first.

He did not risk open battle. He chose a night attack. His troops advanced by land and water and struck Wang Sengbian at Stone City.

Wang was working in his office and never expected the enemy to be Chen Baxian.

He retreated with a few dozen guards to the south gate tower. Chen's forces surrounded it and set fires. Wang surrendered and was strangled.

Xiao Yuanming had barely sat on the throne before he was forced to step down.

Chen Baxian led officials to restore Xiao Fangzhi, changed the reign title, and took control of Liang government.

Northern Qi Comes South

Wang Sengbian's old followers refused to submit and held territory with their own troops. Chen Baxian had to suppress internal resistance.

Before that wave ended, Northern Qi came too.

After killing Wang, Chen sent envoys to Northern Qi, saying Wang had plotted usurpation and that Liang was still willing to be a vassal.

But both Chen Baxian and Gao Yang knew war would come.

In late 555, Northern Qi crossed the Yangtze and pressed toward Stone City, close to Jiankang. Chen immediately returned to defend.

Some advised him to use old fortifications from Hou Jing's time and cut Qi's supply line.

Chen accepted.

He sent men to raid Qi supplies at night, burned more than a thousand grain ships, and blocked the enemy's eastward route.

The Qi troops in Stone City ran short of food. When part of the army went out to receive reinforcements, Chen attacked and defeated them.

Qi soldiers fought for boats to flee north. Many drowned. Those who could not cross were captured by Liang's navy.

The commander Liu Damo asked for peace. He would withdraw and leave ships and supplies, but demanded hostages from Liang.

Jiankang was weak and short of grain. Many officials wanted peace. Chen Baxian sent his nephew as hostage.

Northern Qi withdrew for the moment.

Chen warned the court that Northern Qi could not be trusted. Sending a nephew was only a way to buy Jiankang time to breathe.

Chen Baxian Founds Chen

The pause gave Chen Baxian time to suppress resistance inside Liang.

Northern Qi did not give up. When Gao Yang heard that Liu Damo had made private peace, he punished him, tore up the agreement, and sent another army south.

This time Qi was more cautious. It moved around the eastern side of Jiankang and guarded its supply line.

Chen again focused on distance and supplies. He attacked storage points and burned grain and warships.

Qi was forced to hurry toward Jiankang.

Then the Jiangnan rainy season arrived. Heavy rain fell day after day. The Qi camps sat in low, wet ground, and soldiers suffered.

Liang forces knew the climate. Their camps were on higher ground. Local people brought rice and ducks, and Chen had rice wrapped in lotus leaves for the troops. Morale rose sharply.

Fed and steadied, Liang counterattacked and defeated Northern Qi.

After this battle, Jiangnan became temporarily stable. After years of war, Chen Baxian finally controlled the lower Yangtze.

In 557, he deposed Emperor Jing of Liang, Xiao Fangzhi, took the throne at Jiankang, and founded Chen.

Southern Liang ended. Southern Chen appeared.

In the same year, Western Wei ended in the north and was replaced by Northern Zhou. South changed from Liang to Chen. North changed from Western Wei to Zhou. The north-south pattern shifted again.